RUBAIYAT 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

Rare  Books  Department 

GIFT  OF 

Mr,   and  Mrs. 
John  J.  Nathan 


RUBAIYAT 
OF  LIFE 


Remiss  thy  ministry  to  Truth,  O  Muse? 
To  lend  Humanity  thy  grace  refuse? 

Not  so:  lay  not  my  faltering  art  against 
Her  willingness  a  Jitter  tool  to  choose. 


of 

those  who  do  not  weep 

"This  sorry  Scheme  of  Things  entire" 

but  finding  Love  in  nature  &  God  in  man, 

keep  their  Sweetness  and  their  Reason 

and  are  as  Cheerful  as  they 

want  to  be. 


RUBAIYAT 
OF  LIFE 

h 
Luke  North 


Done  in  the  Year  1909  on  the 

GOLDEN    PRESS 

which  is  set  up  among  the  roses  &  orange  trees  of 

LA     CANYADA 

in  the  county  of  Los  Angeles 
CALIFORNIA 


"Tis  of  a  Better  Day  and  Way  I  sing, 

When  man  ereft  shall  stand  and  Love  shall  bring 

To  human  heart  the  art  of  Harmony, 
And  Fear  shall  cease  and  Poverty  take  wing! 

1  T  is  of  a  Brighter  Day  whose  dawn  is  near, 
When  Love  shall  take  from  Life  its  Bitter  Tear; 

And  of  a  Fairer  Way  that  sees  behind 
The  clouds  of  Gloom  the  Sunlight  bold  and  clear! 


COPYRIGHT 

M  CM  IX 

BY 

JAMES 

H. 

GRIFFES 


Rubaiyat  of  Life 


HERE  followeth  now  these  facets 
of  the  Diamond  Truth  which  one 
man  hath  fashioned  into  quatrains 
because  that  was  the  most  pleasur- 
able thing  for  him  to  do.  They  seem  vital  to 
him  inasmuch  as  they  answer  life's  perplexities, 
explain  conducl:,  and  offer  basis  in  Reason  for 
the  faith  we  all  have  that  "God  is  Good."  It 
is  not  contended  that  these  facets  of  Truth  an- 
swer the  ultimate  "Why"  or  eliminate  pain  & 
sorrow  from  life — nothing  that  is  written  can; 
but  they  may,  and  for  one  at  least  they  do, 
heighten  the  glow  of  the  sunny  hours  &  soften 
the  shadows  that  yet  must  fall  till  men  shall 
learn  to  live  and  love  without  fear.  L.  N. 


10 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


Awake!  Awake!   Love's  Shaft  of  Fiery  Gold 
Burns  thru  the  clouds  of  superstition  old. 

The  Living  God  stands  forth !  the  Dawn  is  here ! 
The  heart's  pure  flame  creates  the  Day  foretold. 


Dispelling  heresies  of  centuries  old, 

And  creedal  doubt  and  logic's  dogma  cold; 

Man's  love  of  man  the  world  encircling  fast — 
Love  claiming  Life — deferred  desire  bold! 


Love  claiming  Life  and  warming  intellect, 
The  heart  of  man  his  wanderings  to  direct. 

Love  claiming  Life,  demanding  sway  on  earth, 
Revealing  Man  of  Fate  the  architect. 


RUBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


1 1 


Age  long  by  sense  alone  life's  Way  was  led; 
The  human  mind  on  faith  or  reason  fed; 

The  God  within  lay  hidden  'neath  the  flesh; 
And  man  for  Deity  e'er  searcht  the  dead ! 


No  Living  God  the  eye  of  man  could  see — 
No  faith  in  life  beyond  Fortuity: 

No  hope  or  joy  not  ending  in  despair 
Or  crusht  by  codes  of  dead  Authority. 


The  living  God  stands  forth  in  human  birth! 
In  fearlessness  no  power  his  Will  can  girth 

To  hasten  evolution's  toiling  way, 
Release  the  millions,  paradise  the  earth ! 


12 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


Why  view  the  universe  as  dark  and  sad, 
Its  ways  unjust,  its  circumstances  mad; 

While  Nature's  every  mood  reveals  that  man 
Alone  hath  lost  the  art  of  being  glad? 

8 

I  cannot  think  that  man  is  but  the  sport 
Of  elements  that  mockingly  distort 

His  fitful  efforts  to  be  great  and  wise, 
Or  God  exists  the  human  Will  to  thwart. 


It  is  not  true  that  throes  of  human  pain 
Make  mirthful  holidays  for  gods  that  reign — 

Or  Chance,  or  Law,  or  Deity  disport 
As  man  plays  fast  and  loose  with  Life,  for  gain. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


10 


Man  's  lord  of  all  his  eye  or  Will  doth  reach. 
The  skies  bend  low  and  listen  for  his  speech ; 
The  tides,  the  trees,  the  lower  kingdoms  all 
Await  his  touch;  his  to  command  and  teach. 


ii 


And  tho  man  sit  in  idleness  supine, 

And  rest  and  lean,  and  cringe  to  Outer  Shrine, 

His  task  of  ruling  is  not  thus  escapt: 
The  forces  uncontrolled  himself  confine. 


12 


Filosofies  are  wove  of  human  skill, 
And  in  the  weaving  each  his  own  sweet  will 
May  please.  No  static  right  hath  any  ism 
The  Joy  of  Life  by  subtleties  to  kill. 


RUBATYAT    OF     LIFE 


It  is  the  fruitage  of  a  stunted  brain, 
That  view  of  life  which  brings  the  tears  and  pain, 
Which  seeing  but  the  shape  of  things,  mistakes 
The  Wine  Cup  for  the  Cheer  it  doth  contain. 


While  yet  your  Cup  is  full  plan  out  life's  ways, 
While  hope  runs  high  and  merciful  your  days 

Toward  all  that  live;  nor  wait  satiety's 
Recoil  and  midnight's  shadowy  dismays. 


Youth's  Wine,  life's  Bread,  &  Oil  of  growing  thought 
Untramelled  by  the  creeds  of  dead  men  taught: 

Let  these,  and  Love,  thy  destiny  safeguard. 
What 's  writ  is  emptiness,  the  code  is  naught. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


16 


For  life  is  first,  and  then  filosofy. 
Blood,  love,  and  hate  carve  mortal  destiny — 
Till  these,  transmuted  by  the  riper  growth, 
Bow  to  the  Will  of  Man's  divinity. 


Let  Heart  Light  delve  into  the  mystery  deep, 
And  Reason  wait  on  Love,  her  faith  to  keep ; 

Her  place  to  segregate  delusion  from 
The  truth :  not  hers  behind  the  veil  to  peep. 

18 

The  God  I  worship  needs  no  priest  profound 
His  laws  for  mortal  welfare  to  expound, 

But  writes  them  large  on  all  his  handiwork — 
'T  is  creed  and  code  that  riddles  dark  grow  'round, 


i6 


RUBATYAT    OF     LIFE 


19 

The  God  I  worship,  then,  in  Man  I  find. 
Nor  law  nor  circumstance  his  Will  doth  bind. 

Creator  of  his  world  within  and  out — 
All  nature  but  the  product  of  his  Mind. 

20 

Come,  read  your  Book  of  Life  in  Nature's  laws, 
And  seek  her  meaning  of  whatever  clause 

Seems  made  for  pain  and  leads  to  unbelief 
That  Love,  embracing  All,  is  Primal  Cause. 


21 


If  Love  is  true  and  Nature's  ways  are  right, 
No  bar  there  is  on  range  of  human  sight, 

No  bar  save  that  which  fear  and  indolence 
Hath  forged.  'T  is  creed  &  awe  shut  out  the  Light. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


22 


And  tho  the  Ultimate  I  ne'er  foreknow, 
If  I  can  see  the  Way  by  which  men  grow, 

By  which  the  tares  to  wheat  and  tears  to  peace 
Are  turned;  if  I  can  see  the  steps  that  show 

23 

True  harmony  in  Nature's  perfed:  sway, 

How  sorrow's  veil  hides  but  a  brighter  day; 

If  I  can  reason  out  the  heart's  desire 
And  correlate  the  thorns  that  line  the  way; 


If  I  can  glimpse  the  General  Plan,  and  see 
How  Love  and  Justice  can  omniscient  be; 
How  Mercy  lurks  in  every  error  sown, 
And  wisdom  comes  thru  grief  and  agony ; 


i8 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


If  I  can  see  the  course  of  Justice  HERE! 
(My  trust  is  scant  of  any  distant  sphere) 

Why  then  for  me  life's  bitterness  is  gone ; 
I'll  thread  it's  mazes,  sans  despair  and  fear. 


26 


'T  is  Fear  that  cozens  Hope  of  its  caress 
And  leaves  your  piety  all  comfortless; 

'T  is  Fear,  I  say,  that  robs  your  days  of  Joy, 
And  tinges  human  life  with  bitterness. 


27 

'T  is  Fear,  't  is  fear  of  flesh,  of  death,  of  "lust"— 
In  Nature,  God,  or  SELF,  no  helpful  trust! 

All  modern  life  is  ruled  by  dead  men's  codes  — 
Its  hope  is  based  on  shining  bits  of  dust. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


28 

O,  man!  stand  up,  and  dare  be  What  thou  art! 
Dare  to  enjoy — dare  to  forget  life's  mart — 

Dare  to  be  free — dare  even  that  thine  Heart 
May  lead!  O,  be  the  very  God  thou  art! 

29 

Dare  lift  thy  head  from  Custom's  cruel  yoke; 
Tear  from  Society  its  tradesman's  cloak. 

Dare  take  the  soil,  thy  heritage  of  birth — 
Dare  all,  dare  all! — Thyself  alone  invoke! 


3° 


'T  is  creed  and  ignorance  cloud  life  with  fear — 
And  Love  that  brings  the  riper,  richer  cheer. 

It  is  not  true  that  happiness  and  peace 
Are  purchast  only  by  the  Bitter  Tear. 


2O 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


31 


And  wisdom's  growth  is  not  alone  thru  pain; 
From  Joy  than  Grief  there  comes  the  better  gain, 

Life's  royal  robe  of  Magnanimity 
In  Love  is  wove  from  out  the  Karmic  Skein. 


Yet  words  and  words  the  Door  shall  never  ope  ; 
With  thought  unspoken  doth  the  Spirit  cope  : 
Life's  meaning  by  the  Heart  alone  is  reacht, 
And  Inner  Light  makes  sure  the  outer  hope. 


33 
'T  is  Western  sun  that  blinds  the  Inner  Sight 

And  shades  the  poetry  of  life  with  night 

Of  science  and  sensation's  narrow  view. 
Look  to  the  East,  O  men  of  hope,  for  Light ! 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


21 


34 

Take  from  the  East  its  light  on  Nature's  Way. 
Throw  out  its  weeds  of  creed  and  sad  array 

Of  Oriental  myth  and  fantasy. 
But  light  comes  from  the  East,  the  East,  I  say. 


35 

Thus  East  and  West  agree :  The  Whole  unfolds ; 
Brahma  breathes  out;  the  universe  unrolls 

Its  scroll  of  evolutionary  law — 
And  Mind  begets  whatever  Life  beholds. 

36 

In  Cosmic  void  the  Breath,  the  Word,  the  Sound! 
The  Pattern  manifolds,  the  countless  round 

Of  universal  day  and  night  begins — 
The  cyclic  web  of  daily  life 's  unwound. 


22 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


37 

But  Western  law  is  cruel,  blind,  and  cold, 
Its  man  a  wanton  toy,  a  plastic  mold 

Of  clay  shapt  by  some  ruthless  Potter's  hand 
That  shook — forbidding  Soul  its  life  unfold. 

38 

In  Eastern  lore  the  God  of  Love  I  find, 
Compassionate  to  "  sin  "  of  humankind ; 

And  pointing  how  and  where  adjustment  comes 
Its  Justice  Argus-eyed,  and  never  blind ! 


39 

In  rythmic  tides  the  life  waves  rise  and  fall, 
Mankind,  the  stars,  the  seas,  concurring  all. 

The  impulse  from  within,  the  pull  without — 
Life,  Growth,  and  Change  obey  the  mystic  call. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


40 


Eternally  God's  breath  indraws  again: 
The  summer  suns  return  with  golden  grain: 

The  earth  gives  back  whatever  man  puts  forth. 
An  it  be  love,  or  hate,  or  pleasure's  pain. 


41 


That  ever  hidden  Inner  Urge  impinging 

The  "void"  without,  and  Form  forever  hinging 

Between  the  flow  and  flux  of  pulsing  life : 
The  "I"  and  "Thou"  TOTALITY  infringing! 


Eternal  mystery! — that  question  "Why?" — 
The  human  heart  in  Joy  may  yet  descry : 

The  lover's  ecstacy,  the  artist's  mood, 
At  very  portals  of  the  ALL  may  lie ! 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


43 

Give  time  and  depth  and  scope  to  human  life, 
Nor  dwarf  its  Days  to  three-score  years  of  strife 

On  this  grim  battle-field  with  anger,  hate 
And  passion's  blinding  mists,  alas,  how  rife ! 

44 

Why  all  its  agonies,  its  pains,  and  tears, 
Its  seeds  of  effort  and  its  withering  years 

On  lessons  but  half  learned  and  work  but  half 
Performed — if  death  translates  to  other  spheres  ? 


45 

All  nature  writes  the  answer  bold  and  clear — 
The  theatre  of  human  life  is  HERE  ! 

Death's  but  a  sleep  between  the  Days  of  Life  : 
Man  reaps  where  he  hath  sown — the  harvest's  here! 


R  UB  AI Y AT     OF    LIFE 


46 

Where  ripens  wheat  that 's  sown  on  fallow  soil? 
Do  demon  gods  conspire  to  cheat  man's  toil — 

Remove  the  harvest  field  o'er  night,  reduce 
To  emptiness  his  years  of  sweat  and  moil? 


47 

Where  bursts  the  acorn  thru  its  horny  pod, 
On  distant  Mars,  or  in  the  forest  sod 

Of  planet  where  it  fell  ?  How  reason  ye, 
That  man  allegiance  bears  to  foreign  God? 

48 

The  Rose  thou  mournest  when  its  petals  fall 
Ensouls  the  bud  that  bursts  at  nature's  call: 

And  in  the  glory  of  the  new  the  Sap 
And  Essence  of  the  old  doth  still  enthrall ! 


26 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


49 

'T  is  but  the  form  that  dies  and  not  the  Soul : 
The  Essence  of  the  Rose  pervades  the  Whole. 

The  Jar  is  broken,  but  the  Wine  flows  on! 
Let  not  the  heart's  best  love  cling  to  the  Bowl. 

50 

And  all  this  loveliness  shall  reappear: 
The  selfsame  Roses  of  the  yesteryear, 

With  vesture  new  and  perfume  fresh  from  Sleep, 
Shall  wake,  not  in  some  other  world,  but  here! 

51 

For  man  on  earth  is  not  a  Transient  Guest ! 
Nor  brief,  nor  easy  to  attain,  his  quest 

Of  that  lost  Grail  of  Human  Brotherhood, 
Which  once  regained  brings  man  the  Alkahest. 


RUBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


27 


52 

Nor  all  your  longings  from  the  Now  to  veer 
Shall  break  the  Human  Tie  that  chains  you  here, 

Till  man  shall  make  of  earth  a  paradise, 
And  win  the  right  to  win  another  sphere. 

53 

On  Golden  strands  of  Human  Brotherhood 
Man's  path  ascends  to  where  the  angels  stood — 

To  other  worlds  and  shapes  unknown.   Till  then 
His  place  is  here,  his  task  the  Common  Good. 


54 


And  then,  this  outer  sheath  of  man  that  dies, 
As  sweethearts'  vows  expire  and  summer  flies — 

What  hell-born  instinct  prompts  the  selfish  wish 
Its  permanence  of  form  to  realize? 


28 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


55 

Or  finds  in  Nature's  gentle  rule  of  Change 
Inherent  gloom?    How  then  her  ways  estrange  - 
Or  build  the  flower  of  gold,  or  glass,  or  stone? 
In  basalt  blocks  the  human  form  arrange? 

56 

Stones  perish  not,  nor  call  for  shallow  tear 
Dropt  in  the  foaming  mead  or  vintage  clear. 

Keep  tears  for  real  woes,  and  bless  the  wave 
That  brings  the  Permanent  new  garb  each  year. 


57 


Unchanging  form  would  make  of  earth  a  hell, 
And  beauty's  fairest  shapes  would  yearn  to  sell 

Their  hopes  of  Paradise  for  change  of  garb — 
If  buttercups  were  cast  of  hardened  shell. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


29 


58 

O,  ye  of  little  faith — yet  faith  too  much! 
Who  lean  on  man-made  creed  as  on  a  crutch, 

And  fail  to  see  in  Nature's  every  way, 
Of  Love  and  Justice  the  supernal  touch. 

59 

O,  ye  of  little  faith — yet  faith  too  great! 
Who  would  the  law  of  life  and  death  translate; 

Yet  fail  to  read  "between  the  lines,"  nor  let 
The  Inner  Glow  the  scroll  illuminate! 


60 


O,  ye  who  would  set  bar  on  human  sight! 
And  circumscribe  man's  range  of  Cosmic  Light 

Within  the  narrow  arc  of  seventy  years, 
And  with  the  grave  his  strife  and  hope  requite ! 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


61 


O,  ye  who  rest  your  lives  on  form  and  flesh, 
Or  with  false  lights  of  wealth  the  soul  enmesh; 

And  lacking  view  of  things  beyond  the  range 
Of  sense,  lack  Fount  that  floweth  ever  fresh ! 


62 

And  ye  who  say  that  Sense  alone  can  know, 
And  wisdom  only  from  the  Outer  grow! 

What  turgid  Wine  flows  in  your  Cup  of  Life 
To  hide  the  sparkle  of  the  Flood  below? 

/ 

63 

To  you,  in  thoughtful  hour,  the  world  must  seem 
A  feverish  nightmare,  a  hellish  dream, 

Pierced  here  and  there  by  rays  of  flitting  light 
That  but  confuse  the  whole  infernal  scheme. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


64 

If  wrong  must  win,  if  love  and  hope  go  down; 
If  God's  hand  shook  in  shaping  this  poor  clown ; 

If  he  's  created  prince,  and  I  a  clod — 
Then  God  's  a  cheat;  let  wine  the  trouble  drown! 

65 

The  world,  't  is  true,  seems  cruel  and  unjust, 
For  often  Virtue  dies  and  prospers  Lust! 

And  Faith  alone,  for  me,  will  not  suffice; 
I  cannot  take  so  big  a  scheme  on  trust. 

66 

I  must,  I  shall  demand  the  reason  Why, 
When  woes  fall  heaviest;  when  You  and  I 

Seem  tost  as  by  an  angry,  wanton  Fate — 
Prate  not  to  me  of  Hope  and  Trust  on  High! 


RUBATYAT    OF     LIFE 


What  then,  is  there  but  creedal  faith  for  man, 
Or  all-foredooming  Chance  in  Nature's  plan? 

But  Reason's  cold  and  pessimistic  doubt, 
Or  Christian  version  of  the  heathen  Pan? 


68 

Is  there  no  bright  and  sane  and  cheering  Way? 
No  universal  Key  by  which  men  may 
Find  Harmony  in  human  destiny? 
No  sign  of  Plan  Divine  in  Nature's  sway? 

69 

Ah,  yes;  there  is  an  Open  Door  to  Life, 
A  Way  of  Things  not  wed  to  gloom  and  strife 

Let  Reason  find  in  Human  Love  a  spouse, 
And  Piety  take  Common  Sense  to  wife. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


33 


70 

Behold,  a  glory  at  the  Door  of  Life 
Awaits  to  banish  human  woe  and  strife  ! 

Awake,  and  bid  the  Joy  of  Life  come  in 
And  dwell  where  doubt  and  sadness  now  are  rife. 


The  Head  and  Heart  of  man  again  must  wed, 
The  Intellect  by  human  Love  be  led, 

To  banish  in  the  Joy  of  Nature's  way 
The  Creedal  night,  and  gloom  by  Science  fed. 


72 

Full  long  Dame  Reason  *s  scorned  her  nobler  part, 
And  man  has  lived  on  maxims  of  the  mart. 

The  Key  that  shall  unlock  all  Doors  for  him 
Lies  in  the  marriage  of  the  Head  and  Heart. 


34 


R  U  B  A  I YA  T    OF     LIFE 


73 

Nor  Rhapsody,  nor  "Logic  absolute/' 
Man's  Leaden  errors  into  Gold  transmute. 
The  subtleties  of  Church  fore'er  confuse, 
And  e'er  the  grindings  of  the  Bank  embrute. 

74 

Take  from  your  Piety  its  husk  of  creed, 
From  Factory  and  Shop  their  dusty  meed 
Of  wolfishness  and  calculating  greed — 
Give  Reason,  one ;  the  others,  Love  most  need, 


75 


The  mart  lacks  Love ;  all  creeds  are  Reasonless ; 
And  poisonous  the  Cup  men  daily  press 
To  lips  drawn  tight  in  fear  of  Poverty 
Or  prideful  mockery  of  "Holiness!" 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


35 


76 

But  from  this  union  of  the  Head  and  Heart 
A  fairer  Hope  is  born — and  lo!  the  art 

Of  being  Glad  and  True  hath  firmer  base 
Than  faith  alone  or  science  doth  impart. 


77 

For  Heart  Light  glows  upon  the  Soul  of  things, 
And  hidden  laws  to  mortal  ken  it  brings, 

Revealing  'neath  the  garb  of  flesh  and  form, 
Of  Nature's  causal  force  the  Secret  Springs. 

78 

Come,  find  with  me,  in  Nature's  vast  unfolding, 
That  Which,  from  seat  within,  e'er  does  the  molding 

Nor  look  afar  for  gods  and  devils  scolding — 
To  miss  in  Self  the  strength  of  life  upholding. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


79 

There  's  not  a  fad:  of  heaven  or  earth  for  man 
But  mortal  ken  and  human  heart  may  scan, 
If  but  the  Outer  Shell  of  life  be  pierced 
And  Love  with  Reason  bare  the  Inner  Plan. 


80 

Thus  every  hidden  urge  and  circumstance 
That  woe  of  man  or  happiness  enhance, 

Expression  finds  in  outward  mold  of  form  — 
The  Seen  and  Unseen  cast  in  consonance ! 

81 

And  as  the  small  but  replicas  the  great, 
So  "gross"  and  "psychic"  planes  associate 

And  blend :  from  one  the  other  can  be  known 
Thus  many  a  riddle  dark  shall  man  translate. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


82 

Nor  idly  sit  beside  a  flowing  river 
(Save  on  a  day  that  clouds  do  threaten  never)  ; 

Nor  lose  thyself  in  meshes  of  the  flesh, 
Save  but  to  gather  strength  for  fresh  endeavor, 


Oh,  fear  them  not,  the  "Jug  of  Wine  "  and  "  Thou  !  " 
Let  lip  press  lip  —  the  flesh  enseal  the  vow. 

But  loiter  not  o'erlong  —  pass  on,  pass  on! 
The  pleasures  of  the  Jar  are  not  enow! 

84 

When  heart  and  mind  shall  soar  beyond  the  Sense, 
(And  Reason  wait  on  Soul's  omnipotence 

To  reach  the  bottom  of  the  well  of  Truth)  — 
Why  then  we  '11  learn  a  little  of  the  "Whence." 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


85 

Now  darkness  broods  and  all  is  Unity, 
And  Form  is  lost  in  Night's  identity. 

A  Breath,  a  Word,  a  ripple  on  the  Wave 
Of  Time — and  Light  brings  forth  Duality! 

86 

In  cosmic  Night  dawns  Light — then  Trinity- 
Religion's  "everlasting  mystery" — ? 

No  mystery,  but  common  rule  of  three — 
Primordial  way  of  Solidarity! 

87 

The  Whole  unfolds  at  dawn  of  Cosmic  Day, 
And  Numbers  fall,  in  orderly  array, 

(Diversity  in  Unity  e'er  lurks) 
The  rigid  rule  of  Sequence  to  obey. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


39 


88 

Why,  yes,  the  world  is  full  of  problems  dark, 
When  to  sensation's  voice  alone  we  hark. 

'T  is  only  That  Within  can  read  the  Plan — 
O,  from  the  Tree  of  Life  tear  off  the  bark! 

89 

A  trailing  star  into  the  seeming  Void 
Is  dropt — the  ovum  of  an  asteroid: 

A  "Wanderer"  conceived,  a  world  begot — 
In  cosmic  wilderness  a  Form  deployed! 


90 


Thus  groups  of  worlds  from  out  the  starry  light, 
And  souls  of  men  in  glory  all  bedight, 

Come  trooping  down  from  out  the  Milky  Way- 
Come  to  their  Days  of  Life,  from  Cosmic  Night. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


91 

From  Time's  dark  cavern  of  tranquility, 
All  down  the  path  of  Life's  activity, 

Come  Worlds  and  Men  to  conquer  space  &  fate 
And  reach  the  heart  of  true  Fraternity ! 

92 

Caught  on  the  Wheel  of  life's  necessity  — 
A  Ray  of  God  (of  All  Humanity) — 

I  '11  murmur  not  that  I,  a  Spark  of  It, 
Shall  fail  to  read  divine  Totality. 


93 

Yet  this  I  know — but  for  myself  alone 
(Let  each  of  Truth's  array  proclaim  his  own) — 

That  Man  of  earth  is  Lord  and  God  Supreme! 
Here  He  creates — and  reaps  as  He  hath  sown. 


RUBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


94 

In  groups  of  Conscious  Entities  came  man 
From  other  sphere  —  a  Mighty  Caravan!  — 

To  tarry  for  a  Cosmic  Day  on  Earth, 
Nor  fold  his  tent  till  he  works  out  his  Plan. 


95 

As  Living  Gods  the  Life  Wave  came  to  earth, 
Man's  evolutionary  Day  to  girth. 

The  story  of  the  Christ  is  history 
Not  of  one  man,  but  of  the  Human  Birth. 

96 

In  symbol  cosmic  truth  was  ever  told. 
All  scriptures  variously  the  Plan  enfold. 

'T  is  time  at  last  to  tear  aside  the  veils — 
Yet  words  but  symbols  are,  however  bold. 


42 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


97 
Man  came,  and  "fell" — took  on  the  fleshly  shape: 

Creator  he,  not  offspring,  of  the  ape. 

That  Man  could  from  the  monkey  grow — alas! 
What  fancies  then  may  flow  from  too  much  grape! 

98 

And  all  that 's  now  on  earth  or  e'er  shall  be — 
The  Simian  brute,  the  fish,  the  stone,  the  tree — 

Inside  or  out,  unseen  or  seen  —  by  Man 
Were  clothed  —  progenitor  of  Form  is  he ! 


99 


Vex  not  thy  life  with  asking  why  the  Whole 
Unfolds :  the  answer 's  known  but  to  the  Soul, 
Whose  comprehension  reaches  back  of  words. 
For  reason  of  the  Wine,  ask  not  the  Bowl. 


RUBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


43 


100 


From  Night  of  Time  came  I  to  earth,  and  You, 
Because  Day  follows  Night — and  then  we  knew: 

Again  we  '11  know  why  all  this  "hollow  show" — 
Ere  Day  gives  way  to  Night  the  Whole  we  '11  view. 


101 


And  yet,  the  answer  's  not  so  far  to  see 
(When  all  the  world  is  bright  and  fair  to  me), 
The  Perfect  God  is  here  on  earth;  is  here, 
In  You  and  Me — because  HE  WILLS  TO  BE! 


102 


I  scan  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  starry  space  — 
Of  Discord  here  or  there  no  faintest  trace  — 

All  palpitate  in  waves  of  harmony: 
Uncertainty  's  in  but  the  Human  race. 


44 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


103 

The  will  to  Err  in  man  alone  I  find : 
Unfailing  sign  of  The  Creative  Mind! 

Here  consciousness  has  reacht  the  Godlike  stage, 
And  Nature  all  bows  to  the  Human  kind. 

104 

In  freedom  perfect,  absolute,  and  vast 
The  universe,  its  worlds,  man's  life,  are  cast; 

And  Cosmic  "Law"  's  but  harmony  supreme 
Unbroken  by  the  human  arts  that  blast. 


105 

And  in  the  Scheme  of  Things  this  mystery 
Profound  I  see:  that  man's  high  destiny 

It  is  to  consciously  produce  on  earth 
The  tie  of  Human  Solidarity. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


45 


1 06 


For  that  which  IS  must  come  to  vision's  plane; 
The  Heart  of  Truth  be  sponsored  by  the  brain. 

By  choice  shall  men  again  enact  on  earth 
The  Cosmic  Harmonies  that  ever  reign. 


107 

I  cannot  see  the  Cause  its  trail  deflect, 
Nor  trace  each  thought  and  a6t  to  its  effect. 

But  Nature's  stanch  and  true,  I  know,  and  step 
By  step,  each  separate  detail  doth  connect. 

108 

There  is  no  "iron  hand  of  fate"  on  me, 
No  bond  but  human  solidarity! 

And  tho  I  pay  my  share  for  man's  false  steps, 
I  pay  no  more  than  I  alone  decree. 


46 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


109 

Fruition  is  the  name  of  human  Fate: 
No  super-being  doth  Predestinate. 

Each  sows  the  seed  that  time  for  him  shall  reap ; 
Each  instant  doth  each  Ray  its  life  create! 

no 

Who  look  behind  the  Veil  of  life  shall  see 
That  man  himself  carves  out  his  destiny; 

That  fate  is  but  the  reaping  of  the  sown, 
And  each  alone  e'er  writes  his  own  decree. 


in 


"Law"  limits  but  to  rule  of  Harmony — 
That  every  Cause  its  full  Effect  shall  see. 

And  in  the  reaping  each  his  pleasure  takes 
The  Cup  he  drains  in  gloom,  or  manfully. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


47 


112 

If  then  the  fleeting  hour  of  Now  and  Here 
Eternal  record  of  each  hope  and  fear 

And  thought  and  act  mark  on  the  warp  of  Time, 
Futurity  is  mine!  I'll  drop  no  tear. 

"3 
"Law"  binds  all  things  to  Rationality: 

No  other  limit  on  man's  will  I  see  — 

That  3  plus  3  are  6  and  never  more. 
Why  wail  at  this  Inflexibility 


114 

"The  Moving  Finger  writes;  and  having  writ, 
Moves  on:"  but  why  should  man  of  Godlike  wit 

And  all  Futurity  at  his  command, 
Seek  to  evade  or  lose  a  word  of  it? 


48 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


And  this  I  seem  to  see,  that  man  and  men 
Achieve  by  using  Law !  All  power  then, 

Is  theirs  in  fearlessness  who  use,  nor  waste 
The  Cosmic  force  that  lies  in  human  ken. 

116 

Tho  "good"  or  "ill"  each  ad  of  you  or  me — 
Sure  guiding  stars  for  all  eternity! 

Oh,  ye  who  sail  life's  sea  sans  chart  or  map, 
Turn  to  the  "scroll,"  thy  compass  it  will  be. 


If  Fate  is  but  the  fruitage  of  the  sown, 

And  every  thought  and  act  bring  forth  their  own, 

Why  then  it  rests  with  me,  not  to  undo 
The  Past,  but  carve  the  New — with  me  alone! 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


49 


118 

Who  'd  have  the  past  recalled,  the  scroll  unwrit, 
Hath  yet  to  learn  that  human  growth  is  knit 

On  woof  and  warp  of  all  experience. 
All  colors,  too,  must  enter  into  it. 


119 

If  woven  in  the  fabric  of  a  life, 
No  move  is  false,  nor  failure  loss ;  nor  strife, 

Nor  grief,  nor  "sin"  can  mar  the  perfect  plan, 
Oh,  then,  forget  the  Pain — take  Joy  to  wife! 


120 


Have  faith  in  Life :  its  skies  are  always  clear 
Above  the  blackest  clouds  however  near. 

The  Joy  of  Yesterday  will  knock  again: 
Ope  wide  the  door;  pour  out  a  Cup  of  Cheer. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


121 


In  cyclic  waves  come  Gloom  and  Happiness, 
Maugre  the  outer  circumstance  or  stress. 

Gloom  hungers  e'er  for  sympathy,  and  Joy 
Stays  only  where  the  welcome  doth  caress. 


122 


Like  beads  upon  a  Thread  men's  lives  are  cast, 
Each  Day  of  Life  a  bead.  The  first  and  last 

Are  strung  the  same,  and  all  the  beads  on  all 
The  Threads  will  look  alike  in  finis  masst. 


123 

Some  wear  this  Day  of  Life  a  golden  bead, 
And  some  the  anxious  hues  of  war  and  greed, 

Whilst  many  dull  and  somber  ones  give  tone 
Of  gloom  and  doubt — to  modern  world  its  meed. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


124 

Thus  he  the  Beggar  now  and  I  the  Sheik: 
TOMORROW  he  the  Sultan,  whilst  I  seek 
The  mystery  of  life  in  devious  paths 
And  learn  that  wisdom  comes  but  to  the  meek. 

125 

O,  beads  and  beads  of  lives  and  lives  untold! 
What  wisdom  shall  your  orbits  then  unfold — 

When  human  hearts  and  minds  are  fixt  upon 
The  Thread,  and  read  the  secrets  that  ye  hold! 

126 

Ah,  many  chipt  and  broken  beads  I  see! 
Distorted  lives,  by  man's  uncharity; 

Cheap  tawdry  beads  and  beads  of  muddy  glass, 
Strung  on  the  Thread  of  Life  by  mans  decree. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


127 

Blind  laws  and  customs  of  the  rule  of  greed, 
Still  wrecking  human  life  and  planting  seed 

That  only  thankless  toil  and  weariness 
Can  grow  for  millions  doomed  by  man  to  need ! 

128 

Blind  laws  that  parcel  to  the  "lucky"  few 
Those  values  that  from  common  toil  accrue! 

Dire  laws  of  greed  and  graft  that  take  from  All 
And  lavish  where  no  work  or  worth  make  due! 


129 


Laws  reeking  with  the  lust  of  wolfish  pack, 
That  every  attribute  of  Justice  lack, 

That  nourish  vice  and  craft  and  weigh  on  weak 
Like  Old  Senility  on  Sinbad's  back. 


RUBAIYATOF     LIFE 


130 

These  old  and  withering  laws  now  soon  must  blow, 
As  man  his  cruel  childhood  doth  outgrow: 

Cain's  code  of  greed  to  Get  and  Have  and  Hold 
That  which  the  strongest  must  ere  long  let  go! 


And  hearts  of  men  bowed  low  with  years  of  gain, 
With  only  gold  for  all  their  moil  and  pain, 

Go  to  their  Longer  Sleep  with  halting  step  — 
Ah,  well!  no  life  is  totally  in  vain. 


132 

And  hearts  of  men  are  sore  of  strife  for  gain  — 
Or  it  be  fruitful,  or  their  toil  in  vain: 

The  years  grow  wearisome  for  all  whose  lives 
Are  spent  in  bondage  to  the  Golden  Fane. 


54 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


But  life  expands  with  Giving,  years  do  crown 
With  peace  fair  work  and  worth,  and  funeral  gown 

Hath  pockets  that  will  carry  golden  deeds 
From  life  to  life:  for  Growth  age  wears  no  frown. 


J34 


The  crude  and  banal  strife  of  gold  must  go, 
For  hearts  are  weary  of  the  empty  show. 

Now  toiling  millions  plead  to  listening  ears, 
And  soon  the  New  the  Old  shall  overthrow! 


'35 

The  Better  Day  and  Way  to  earth  shall  bring 
Surcease  of  Hunger's  Fear:  then  men  shall  sing 

At  work,  and  all  that  lives  the  impetus 
Of  joyous  growth  shall  feel — &  thought  take  wing. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


136 

When  on  the  altar  of  the  Common  Good 
Men  lay  their  hope  of  Gain  from  laws  withstood 

For  private  ends  and  mercenary  greeds, 
Then  dawns  the  reign  of  Social  Brotherhood. 


'37 

When  all  have  equal  Opportunity 
To  work  and  reap:  there  is  no  charity 

So  great!  When  men  shall  hold  their  mother  earth 
Intact,  in  trust  for  all  humanity! 

'38 

Not  all  the  Grape  that  flows  from  gold  to  red 

A  light  on  human  destiny  can  shed.  [blood, 

'T  is  Wine  of  Life  mixt  with  the  Heart's  best 
By  which  the  wandering  feet  of  men  are  led. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


And  tho  the  "Grape  with  logic  absolute" 
Confute  the  creed  and  ism,  man's  attribute 

Of  sympathy,  his  hunger  for  the  Heights, 
Unquenched  remain  for  all  the  wine  of  fruit. 


140 


For  man  is  not  the  Jar  that  drinks  red  wine, 
Nor  flesh  that  presses  lips  incarnadine. 

Give  Youth  its  mede  of  effervesing  flood, 
But  Men  crave  stronger  Drink  than  fruit  of  vine, 


141 


'T  is  true  that  never  "blows  the  Rose  so  red" — 
As  where  Truth's  pioneers  have  -lived  and  bled. 

On  Calvary  is  human  progress  fixt, 
And  crown  of  thorns  doth  press  the  Toiler's  head. 


RUBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


142 

That  Thorns  on  Roses  grow  MEN  do  not  mourn, 
Nor  e'er  forego  the  Fragrance  for  the  Thorn. 

Let  Roses  bloom  on  every  ill  of  life — 
Each  troubled  hour  by  Roses  be  o'erborne. 

H3 
"  But  Roses  come  and  go!"  Ah,  that  *s  the  He 

That  robs  life  of  its  joy — that  Roses  die 

.     To  leave  the  heart  forlorn.  'T  is  only  Form 

That  comes  and  goes — the  Roses  vivify! 


144 


Crush  not  the  Rose  in  heedlessness  or  lust: 
,  Bruised  Roses  wither  soon,  and  turn  to  dust. 
It  is  the  Rose  within  the  Rose  that  brings 
Perfume  to  life — Oh,  pluck  it  if  you  must! 


RVBA1YAT     OF    LIFE 


H5 

But  having  pluckt  your  Rose,  its  brier  flung 
Into  your  Cup  of  Life — tho  scarred  and  stung, 

Don't  whimper  as  you  drain  the  Karmic  Brew : 
Its  bitterness  is  lost  in  Paean  sung! 

146 

Full  half  the  gloom  of  life  lies  in  the  Quaffing: 
In  every  Cup  there  's  Pang  within  the  draffing. 

Groans  ease  no  pain  and  frowns  resolve  no  doubt. 
Then  stand  &  drink  your  Cup  with  eyes  a-laughing. 


ONE  came  who  pluckt  His  Rose  of  Life  and  tost 
It  to  the  World,  nor  murmured  at  the  cost. 

(Who  give  their  all  as  Nature  gives  reap  most.) 
A  fairer  Rose  He  gained  than  that  He  lost! 


RUBA1YAT     OF    LIFE 


59 


148 

And  all  who  find  the  Inner  Light,  nor  shrink 
The  stronger,  headier  Wine  of  Life  to  drink, 

Lay  Roses  on  the  altar  of  the  World — 
With  blood  and  love  cement  the  human  link! 

149 

So  many  Roses  on  the  Way  of  Life — 
And  yet  so  few!  and  still  the  world  so  rife 

Of  war  and  greed  that  Roses  bloom  and  die 
Unseen  and  crusht  beneath  the  human  strife. 


150 

The  Rose  that  buds  and  blows  in  Open  Air — 
So  willingly  it  grows,  so  free  and  fair ! 

Its  fragrance  and  its  beauty  blessing  all 
Who  take  and  leave  it! — growing  everywhere! 


6o 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


Of  Beauty  her  Free  Sceptre  to  dethrone, 
How  many  Roses  crusht  to  Hoard  and  Own  ! 

Mad  lust  to  Have  and  Hide — and  e'er  provide 
But  charnel  house  for  ash  of  Roses  blown ! 

152 

In  Autumn  days  cling  not  to  Springtime  Rose — 
The  flower  of  Youth  let  go — a  fairer  grows. 

Red  Roses  for  life's  Summer  years,  and  Gold 
Of  Ophir  for  the  Winter  hours  that  close. 


'53 

Seek  not  for  Roses  in  the  Vale  of  Tears. 
Its  stunted  blooms  bespeak  of  Self  man's  fears. 

Life's  Rose  in  Sunlight  grows.   Bend  low  the  ear: 
Its  petals  ting  with  Music  of  the  Spheres! 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


61 


154 

Man  sells  his  Roses  as  the  harlot  flings 
Her  favors  to  the  human  creeping  things, 

And  reaps  her  meed  for  every  flower  blasted — 
Joy  scorned  disease  and  death  forever  brings. 

'55 

Some  sell  their  Roses  to  a  demon  thirst 
Of  gold — spend  all  their  days  in  greed  immerst. 

Some  listen  to  the  lure  of  passions  wild, 
And  burn  their  Roses  in  desires  accurst. 


156 

Some  sell  Life's  Roses  for  a  sounding  name — 
Some  barter  peace  and  love  for  empty  fame. 

Some  sell  and  sell,  all  happiness  in  trade — 
The  rule  of  daily  life — a  fair  world's  shame ! 


62 


RUBA1YAT    OF     LIFE 


157 

And  those  who  would  not  sell  their  Roses  red, 
Must  ever  part  with  them  for  daily  bread. 

The  Game  of  modern  life  is  Buy  and  Sell — 
And  Luxury  on  Human  Blood  is  fed. 

158 

All  Life's  best  Roses  then  are  held  too  slightly; 
And  not  the  least  those  gript  and  hoarded  tightly, 

In  fear  and  doubt  of  Nature,  Life,  and  Love, 
His  Roses  man  lets  go,  alas,  too  lightly! 


For  lust  of  Having  men  thus  blindly  choose 
The  peace  and  joy  of  Living  now  to  lose; 

Unmindful  of  Life's  Roses  free  that  bloom 
To  Give,  to  Give  their  All  and  ne'er  refuse. 


R  U  B  A  1  Y  A  T    OF     LIFE 


160     , 

A  Rose  shall  in  Life's  Garden  come  to  grow, 
And  men  await  its  budding,  hearts  aglow — 

A  Rose  devoid  of  Thorns,  its  blossoms  fair 
To  sweeten  life,  and  peace  on  earth  bestow. 

161 

The  slips  are  planted  and  the  soil  kept  free. 
Ten  million  hearts  the  royal  bloom  to  see 

Give  all  their  best  to  human  freedom's  cause. 
And  O,  the  glory  of  the  Day  to  be! 

162  , 

Indeed,  on  earth  with  "Fate"  we  shall  conspire, 
Recast  the  wolfish  Scheme  of  Things  entire, 

Unshackle  chains  that  hold  men  from  the  earth, 
Remold  the  nations  to  the  "Heart's  Desire"! 


64 


RUBA1YAT     OF     LIFE 


No  higher  task  or  aim  has  man  than  this : 
(Nor  they  a  full  life  lead  that  are  remiss) 

To  Revolutionize  the  wanton  codes 
That  doom  the  mass  to  Poverty's  abyss. 

164 

'T  were  vain  one  climb  the  Garden's  Upland  Height, 
A  Thornless  Rose  to  seize  by  Spirit's  might. 

Who  gathers  fragrance  for  himself  alone 
His  Rose  shall  find  accurst  by  Inner  Blight. 

•  165 

From  Heart  to  Heart,  tho  never  eyes  may  see, 
Intact  the  human  bond  shall  ever  be; 

Nor  may  one  loosen  it,  by  toil  or  craft, 
To  step  beyond  the  Great  Fraternity. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


166 

For  severed  lives  rejoin  the  Human  Whole, 
And  those  "releast"  gain  not  the  Final  Goal: 
Resurgent  to  the  end  the  Common  Cause, 
Till  men  shall  know  each  other  Soul  to  Soul. 

.67 

Alike  Within  and  Out  man's  course  is  run  — 
(From  Center  to  the  Rim  shines  e'er  the  Sun). 

Life's  strength  &  poise  at  Inner  Shrine  is  found- 
In  human  service  its  best  joy  is  won. 

168 

No  mystic  life  that  shuns  the  Outer  Path 
Shall  conquer  fate.   Inaction's  aftermath 

Holds  bitter  tears  for  those  who  seek  the  Way 
For  self.   Beware  the  God  within  his  wrath ! 


66 


R  I)  B  A  I  Y  A  T     OF     LIFE 


169 

For  every  Flow  of  Wine  a  Jar  must  fill, 
Nor  wantonly  the  Golden  Fluid  spill, 

Nor  carelessly  the  Vessel  mar  or  crack — 
Lest  thou  befoul  the  brew  thou  wouldst  distill. 

170 

The  Sun  is  greater  than  its  single  Ray, 
And  sway  of  Whole  each  Unit  doth  obey — 
Till  One  shall  learn  the  essence  of  the  All 
To  draw,  and  be  himself  Lord  of  his  Day. 


171 

Tho  bound  to  Whole,  its  energies  to  save, 
No  life  to  aught  but  ignorance  is  slave. 

Fore'er  the  choice  is  free  to  reach  and  be 
The  All — to  mount  and  ride  the  Cosmic  Wave. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


172 


At  Center  of  the  Whole  the  power  lies: 
Let  all  the  Center  be  who  power  prize 

Not  to  rule  others  but  themselves  to  free. 
Take  then  the  Most!  —  (yet  not  the  Least  despise), 


None  really  mourn  that  two  plus  two  make  four, 
But  seize,  and  from  it  weave  their  need  or  more. 

Not  "law"  but  rule  of  Like  to  Like  binds  life 
The  fact  that  but  one  Key  can  ope  your  Door. 


Man  to  unlock  each  Door  of  Life  is  free, 
Yet  sot  and  God  at  once  he  may  not  be. 

Sit  still  and  rust  who  will,  but  cease  to  whine 
Nor  fancy  that  from  heaven  shall  drop  your  Key 


68 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


'75 

Not  every  Key  shall  open  every  Door, 
Nor  one  man's  truth  be  all  men's  sacred  lore. 

As  many  Portals  then  as  Souls  there  are. 
Steal  not  my  Key — a  Leaner  I  abhor. 

176 

A  Day  shall  come — bowed  hearts,  dim  eyes,  shall 
A  time  when  men,  thru  yearning  to  be  free,       Lsee 
Shall  learn  to  help  and  not  to  bind — shall  learn 
To  live  and  love,  be  kind,  and  DISAGREE! 


177 


The  Lethal  Cup  to  man  no  wisdom  brings. 
We  learn  by  living,  loving,  doing  things.  ["but 

"School  keeps"  in  Daylight  Hours,  and  death  is 
The  Curtain  'tween  Life's  Ads  that  Nature  rings. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


69 


178 

Death  opes  no  Door  not  often  oped  before, 
And  That  which  Passes  In  knows  well  the  "Shore** 

Where  It  shall  rest  (as  in  the  sleep  of  night) 
And  free  of  discord  spread  its  wings  and  soar. 


Death  *s  not  grim-visaged,  cruel,  cold,  austere  — 
But  as  a  gentle,  loving  mother  dear, 

She  rocks  her  tired  children  to  their  Sleep 
Betimes,  and  shelters  them  from  Day  grown  sere. 


180 


Death  is  not  dark — its  shores  all  Stygian  black — 
(Save  to  the  body's  eyes  that  ever  lack 

Purview  beyond  the  Form.)  But  Death  is  Light, 
The  Light  of  Time's  eternal  zodiac. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


181 

And  That  which  Enters  In  to  rest  and  soar 
Is  not  the  Total  Man,  but  less  and  more 

Than  He  whose  evolutionary  Days 
Are  cast  on  earth,  its  mysteries  to  explore. 

182 

Oh,  fear  not  Death,  nor  mourn  her  kindly  ways — 
Nor  fancy  that  just  dying  your  debt  pays. 

Life's  debt  is  paid — its  passport  only  gained  — 
By  growing,  loving,  living,  all  your  days. 

'83 

If  Problems  could  be  solved  by  dying  merely, 
And  we  could  Grow,  &  see  Life's  Way  more  clearly, 

And  peace  and  joy  so  cheaply  purchast  be — 
How  foolish  then  to  live  and  buy  more  dearly? 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


7.1 


184 

Beware,  the  Cup  of  Death  its  Bitter  Dregs ! 
Or  it  be  quaft  too  soon !  Or  one  who  begs 

Its  surcease  as  the  easier  way!   Death  may 
Not  serve  as  Crutch  for  those  who  have  two  legs! 

185 

As  like  to  like  doth  flow,  and  every  cause 
Effect  doth  know — so  Death  not  quickly  draws 

The  troubled  Soul  to  peace.  Control  —  cast  out! 
But  do  not  recklessly  invoke  Death's  jaws ! 

i8b 

Thus  if  the  heart  know  only  Outer  life  — 
If  "snaps  the  chord"  in  midst  of  battle  rife — 
The  Ton  that  You  are  now  earth  hovers  o'er, 
And  slowly  Soul  sinks  from  terrestrial  strife. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


187 

Death  feeds  on  Form  alone,  and  this  Man  molds. 
His  every  thought  and  act  a  Shape  unfolds. 

He  laughs  at  Death  then  who  expands  &  grows, 
And  fashions  faster  than  the  Reaper  holds. 

188 

Time's  havoc  on  the  Garb  of  Flesh  shall  stay 
And  even  Death  the  human  Will  obey, 

When  finding  in  Himself  the  power  divine, 
Man  rules  the  forces  that  await  his  sway. 

189 

Would  age  defy,  its  canker  never  know — 
Would  taste  the  Wine  of  Time's  eternal  flow? 

Not  vain  the  search  for  Life's  Elixir  was — 
To  live  fore'er  is  but  to  Love  and  Grow. 


R  U  B  A  I  Y  A  T     OF    LIFE 


73 


190 

Life's  Key  is  forged  in  Love's  pure  flame  of  Gold 
Fierce  fires  whose  dead  white  fury,  seeming  cold, 

With  roaring  heat  uniting  lives  and  worlds, 
Brims  with  one  bubbling  flux  the  Cosmic  Mold. 

191 

Ah,  yes;  environment  enslaves  us  all! 
Because  supine  we  rest,  or  rage  and  fall 
On  knee  to  Powers  far,  and  hesitate 
The  Flame  to  light — the  Man  within  to  call. 


192 


Tho  facts,  events,  and  circumstances  bind, 
Inert  are  these,  unconcious,  senseless,  blind. 

To  rule  them  is  the  part  of  human  Will — 
Of  Him  that  dares  his  all  the  Heights  to  find. 


74 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


193 

O,  be  a  gambler  bold!  and  freely  throw 
The  Dice  of  Life — lay  all  its  "hollow  show'' 
Of  dross  upon  the  cloth,  its  Gold  to  win — 
And  play  the  greatest  Game  the  Heart  can  know! 

194 

They  say  that  This  or  That  man  cannot  know, 
That  only  vintage  of  the  fruits  that  grow 

In  soil  can  wisdom  bring — because  on  Form 
Alone  man  's  lookt,  two  thousand  years  or  so. 


With  telescope  in  vain  man  has  peered  out, 
Nor  microscope  has  helpt  resolve  his  doubt. 
He  turns  at  last  within  Himself  to  search, 
And  there  finds  wisdom  not  extant  without. 


RUBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


75 


196 

Truth  flashes  like  a  Diamond  held  a-high. 
Each  his  hope  weaves  from  Rays  that  catch  his  eye. 
Truth  Absolute,  in  words  ne'er  spoke,  deep  lies 
At  center,  where  the  Rays,  converging,  die. 


197 

Cain's  answer  to  his  God  was  partly  right, 
His  brother's  keeper  man  is  but  by  might: 

His  friend  and  sharer,  yes ;  but  no  man  finds 
The  Way  by  following  another's  Light. 

198 

His  brother  each  can  help  but  none  may  bind; 
Who  rules  another  is  himself  most  blind. 
As  many  paths  to  Fields  Elysian  lead 
As  there  are  conscious  Gods  in  Human  Kind. 


RVBAIYAT     OF    LIFE 


199 

To  stand  upright  alone  in  joy  or  pain, 
To  stand,  or  fall  still  righting,  nor  complain 

To  drink  the  deepest  Cups  that  life  may  hold  — 
This  each  must  learn,  his  strength  of  Self  to  gain. 


200 


For  only  those  that  Stand  Alone  can  Serve. 
Who  Lean,  or  murmur  at  the  Cup,  unnerve 

Whom  they  would  help.   Dread  not  the  Tests  of 
That  tutor  mind  and  heart  no  more  to  swerve. 


201 


The  cost  of  happiness  will  e'er  advance, 
Yet  every  farthing  paid  doth  but  enchance 

Life's  joy.   Be  not  content  with  copper  coins — 
The  Purest  Gold  is  your  inheritance. 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


77 


202 


To  many  idols  cold  men  bend  the  knee — 
Abstractions,  Platitudes,  "Prosperity!" 

But  naught  I  see  so  sacred  in  the  world 
As  Man — just  Man,  is  God  enuf  for  me. 

203 

The  YESTERDAY,  TOMORROW,  and  TODAY — 
In  one  mold  cast — inseparable  are  they. 

A  cheat  is  Time,  the  three  are  one,  all  parts 
Of  Now's  sequential  and  eternal  play. 


204 

The  world  is  vast,  its  mysteries  profound. 
Seek  not  to  circumscribe  them  in  the  round 

Of  school  or  creed:  all  tune  the  mind  to  Gloom 
And  close  the  heart  to  Nature's  joyous  sound! 


RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 


205 

One  ray  I  catch  from  flashing  stone  of  Fate — 
That  hand-in-hand  shall  men  storm  Heaven's  gate; 

That  none  shall  in  the  outer  void  be  left, 
And  none  shall  early  be,  and  none  Too  Late. 

206 

That  each  with  all  shall  share  whate'er  may  pass, 
As  toward  the  Pearly  Gates  we  move  en  masse; 

That  every  Soul  a  God  in  power  shall  be, 
And  that,  at  last,  you'll  find — no  "Empty  Glass." 


lirttorcti 


Between  the  Lines 


T  IS  the  purpose  of  the  foregoing  quatrains  to  present 
a  more  rational  and  more  hopeful  View  of  Life,  and 
a  broader  estimate  of  the  Scheme  of  Things,  than  do 
any  of  the  schools,  creeds,  or  isms.    Life  is  larger  than 
filosofy,  I  hold,  and  the  heavens  higher  than  any  sys- 
tem of  thought.    Life  is  wove  so  inextricably  of  seen 
and  unseen  fafts  and  forces  that  no  surface  filosofy  can 
explain  it.   ^Unconditioned  freedom  of  mind  and  heart  do  these 
quatrains  stand  for,  and  depend  upon  for  their  perspicuity  —  &  no 
other  worth  while  freedom  is  possible  until  this  has  been  attained. 
(Jl^No  one  can  know  all  of  truth,  nor  can  the  mind  alone  reach 
any  truth  that  is  absolute.   The  heart  finds  Truth  Absolute;  it  can 
&  does  know,  at  times,  but  its  knowing  is  not  exprest  in  language. 
^But  when  the  heart  and  mind  work  together  in  freedom — the 
heart  leading,  the  mind  sifting,  both  raised  above  the  market-place 
and  uncontrolled  by  creed  or  ism  —  much  more  of  truth  and  reality 
can  be  known  than  science  will  ever  achieve. 

^Knowledge  is  what  a  man  knows.    A  mentally  free  man  will  not 
persume  to  tell  another  what  he  can  or  cannot  know. 
<fl^By  the  heart  I  mean  that  part  of  man's  nature  which  does  not 
analyze  or  reason.    If  it  be  steept  in  emotion,  rather  than  free  to 
soar  in  aspiration  —  well,  it  leads,  it  leads!  for  all  the  creeds  and 


8z RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 

systems  devised  by  human  ingenuity  since  man's  advent  on  this 
planet  —  it  leads  and  ever  will ! 

^Reason  never  has  guided  life  &  never  can,  tho  its  filosofies  and 
dogmas  have  clouded  human  vision  &  darkened  life's  natural  trend 
toward  peace  and  happiness.    Reason  neither  can  guide  or  control 
human  nature,  nor  alter  the  status  nor  find  the  Way  of  Things 
Eternal.   So  long  as  reason  keeps  her  eyes  on  the  ground  —  that  is 
to  say  on  the  bare  appearance  of  Things — on  Form  alone — and 
dares  not  follow  the  bold  heart  on  its  adventures  behind  the  Veil 
of  gross  fysical  substance,  so  long  will  reason  be  a  hindrance  than 
a  help  toward  the  achievement  of  genuine  human  knowledge. 
^Assuredly  I  will  not  follow  reason  wherever  she  may  lead,  for 
she  leads  mostly  into  culs  de  sac.    Man  is  greater  than  intellect. 
^Creed  &  dogma,  scientific  or  religious  —  I  would  cast  out  entire- 
ly, and  let  filosofy  explain  (never  guide)  life — in  so  far  as  it  can. 
But  I  will  listen  to  no  filosofy,  no  explanation  of  Life  &  Things, 
which  has  gloom  for  its  finis,  or  which  admits  any  God  (Jehovah, 
Natural  Selection,  Chance,  or  what  not)  that  is  apart  from  or  out- 
side of  Man,  or  that  inherently  or  from  necessity  foredooms  man 
to  any  course  or  plan. 

^There  is,  to  be  sure,  a  certain  orderly  and  sequential  way  in 
which  things  great  and  small  occur — the  simple  way  of  cause  and 
effect,  for  instance — but,  except  where  interrupted  and  interfered 
with  by  Man's  free  will,  this  way  is  of  freedom,  a  freedom  so 
complete  as  to  result  in  absolute  Harmony. 
4^The  Cosmos  is  not  "Law  Governed."   It  is  not  governed  at 
all,  in  the  sense  of  being  controlled.   It  is  free — free  to  follow  the 


BETWEEN     THE     LINES 83 

true  lines  of  least  resistance — free  to  be  harmonious.  The  stars  are 
at  liberty  to  move  as  they  will,  and  their  will  is  to  move  in  graceful 
cycles  of  perfect  harmony. 

^Freedom,  of  course,  is  a  relative  term.   The  stone  is  not  free  to 
resist  man's  casting  it  into  the  sea.   Nor  is  man  entirely  free  to 
tinker  with  the  natural  Harmony  of  Things.    Man  is  free  to  butt 
his  head  against  a  stone  wall — &  makes  use  of  that  freedom,  alas! 
every  day — but  he  is  not  free  to  do  so  with  impunity.    Nor  is  he 
free  to  disunite  himself  from  the  human  totality. 
^Still  is  man's  degree  of  freedom  very  great.   He  is  free  to  refrain 
from  butting  a  stone  wall.   Would  to  high  heaven  he  could  see  that 
freedom  and  utilize  it,  say  with  half  the  keenness  he  now  discerns 
the  stone  wall  &  bewails  the  wounds  on  his  head  from  butting  it. 
^But  he  will  not  perceive  his  true  path  of  freedom  so  long  as  his 
mind  is  shackled  by  creed  &  dogma,  so  long  as  his  heart  is  bowed 
in  fear  of  any  God  that  is  outside  of  himself,  nor  so  long  as  he  looks 
only  upon  the  Form  of  Things. 

^Thraldom  of  man  to  man,  or  to  that  Frankenstein  monster  we 
call  Government,  rests  on  thraldom  to  Diety — whatever  its  name, 
whether  the  Personal  God,  the  God  Chance,  or  Natural  Selection. 
Human  slavery  rests  on  mental  concepts.   It  is  only  as  man  learns 
his  own  powers  to  Be  and  Do  that  he  attains  freedom. 
^Man  is  his  own  and  only  God.    Perhaps  I  am  really  the  atheist 
that  Voltaire  and  Paine  certainly  were  not.    Both  of  them  admitted 
some  Governing  Power  outside  of  &  above  man.   I  can  see  no  such 
power — no  interfering  or  foredooming  Fact  or  Law  or  Person- 
ality—  nothing  more  terrible  or  predestinating  than  the  multiplica- 


84 RUBAIYAT    OF     LIFE 

tion  table.    Some  think  my  reach  of  vision  too  short — some  too 
long — but  such  as  it  is  I  have  woven  it  into  these  stanzas,  not  to 
convince  anyone,  not  to  argue  any  question,  not  to  save  the  world, 
for  it  isn't  lost,  nor  a  human  soul  in  it,  but  solely  for  the  reason  set 
forth  in  the  brief  foreword  on  the  opening  page. 
^Quatrains  43  to  57  stand  boldly  and  clearly  for  Reincarnation — 
the  fact  that  death  is  but  the  Longer  Sleep  between  two  Days  of 
Life — without  which  no  rational  explanation  of  life  is  possible. 
^Man  is  not  a  Transient  Guest  on  this  earth,  coming  here  at  birth 
and  going  away  forever  after  so  brief  a  span  as  seventy  years. 
This  sudden  translation  to  heaven,  to  hell,  or  to  some  far  distant 
planet  or  sphere — or  to  the  oblivion  of  Extinction  —  (the  materi- 
alistic concept  still  echoes  the  theological  lie  that  man  is  only  a 
Transient  Guest  on  this  planet  or  plane  of  life) — this  translation 
theory,  I  say,  is  neither  desirable  nor  reasonable,  nor  in  accord  with 
the  evolutionary  idea  of  infinite  progression,  nor  does  it  satisfy  the 
human  mind,  nor  respond  to  the  highest  and  best  promptings  and 
intuitions  of  the  human  heart.    Moreover,  it  is  untrue  (in  my  filos- 
ofy)  and  one  of  the  very  strongest  pillars — if  you  examine  it  with- 
out prejudice — upon  which  rests  the  superstructure  of  man's  slav- 
ery to  man.    If  I  am  to  be  here  but  seventy  years  or  so  and  am 
destined  to  spend  All  Eternity  in  heaven,  hell,  or  the  oblivion  of 
extinction,  then  indeed,  "What's  the  Use?" — why  bother  much 
about  conditions  on  this  brief  resting  place? — and  we  don't, 
djt  is  quite  true  that  life  and  the  world  are  mystical  —  to  a  civili- 
zation that  has  spent  its  best  energies  on  the  outer  rim  of  both. 
But  they  are  mystical  only  because  man  has  not  heretofore  chosen 


BETWEEN     THE     LINES 


to  delve  very  deeply  beneath  the  surface  of  things  apparent.   He  is 
mending  his  ways  now,  to  some  extent,  and  one  of  his  first  mental 
patches  will  consist  of  acquiring  a  larger  &  quite  a  different  mental 
view  of  Time  and   Eternity.    Our  arbitrary  division  of  Past,  Pres- 
ent, and  Future  bears  relation  only  to  the  surface  of  life.    In  the 
more  permanent  world  behind  form  there  is  no  past  or  future,  but 
only  a  circle  of  Now,  to  be  contacted  at  any  and  all  points. 
^Throwing  off  all  shackles  (I  hope)  as  well  those  of  material-//^ 
as  of  mysti-cism;  bound  not  to  evidence  of  the  senses,  nor  by 
authority  dead  or  living,  nor  by  codes  or  creed,  I  have  questioned 
'Life  and  the  Way  of  Things — and  what  I  think  I  have  learned  is 
woven  into  these  quatrains.    I  am  quite  sure  I  learned  nothing  new, 
for  Life  and  the  Way  of  Things  are  eternally  old,  but  much  of  it 
seemed  new  as  I  rather  toilsomely  gathered  it. 
f[l  shall  be  classed  with  the  empiricists,  no  doubt,  but  that  does 
not  terrify  nor  deter  me.    Every  man  need  not  be  his  own  shoe- 
maker (tho  I  sometimes  think  he  would  be  happier  if  he  were) 
but  assuredly  each  man  must  be,  eventually,  his  own  filosofer — or 
worry  along  without  filosofy  —  for  sooner  or  later  he  learns  that  no 
Key  but  his  own  can  unlock  his  Door  of  Life. 
^Reading  over  the  foregoing  printed  pages  before  writing  these 
" introductory  remarks"  I  find  there  is  more  of  the  didactic  in 
these  quatrains  than  I  would  like  to  have,  less  of  poetic  virtue  than 
I  am  proud  of,  &  a  greater  diffusiveness  than  I  meant  there  should 
be.    None  the  less  do  I  send  them  forth  with  scant  apology,  hop- 
ing that  the  import  of  the  facets  of  truth  they  seek  to  express  may 
outweigh  their  lacking  in  structural  grace. 


here  endeth  the  RUBAIYAT  OF  LIFE,  which 
was  written  in  the  years  nineteen  hundred 
seven  and  eight  by  LUKE  NORTH  and  printed  and 
publisht  by  the  GOLDEN  PRESS  at  The  Garden  in  the 
valley  of  La  Canyada,  Los  Angeles  county,  Cali- 
fornia, in  January  of  the  following  year. 


. 


